Bahrain’s Batelco To Take Control Of Kuwaiti Internet Firm

Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) will take majority control of Kuwait’s Qualitynet after agreeing to double its stake in the internet provider, Batelco said on Thursday.

Batelco will buy 46 per cent of Qualitynet from Ali al-Ghanim & Sons for an undisclosed fee, raising the Bahraini firm’s holding to 90 per cent from 44 per cent previously. The deal will likely be concluded in March, a company statement said.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Communications ultimately owns and operates the country’s fixed-line infrastructure, with about four major Internet service providers including Qualitynet paying the government to use it.

Qualitynet’s 2013 revenue was BD31.3 million ($83.0 million), down 8.9 per cent from 2012, which provided Batelco with a profit of BD2.41 million, the latter’s annual report shows.

As of September 2012, Qualitynet claimed a 45 per cent share of Kuwait’s fixed-line Internet market, which operates largely on a copper-based network.

The lack of widespread fibre connectivity has led many Kuwaiti residents to opt instead for mobile Internet provided by the country’s three mobile operators: Zain, Saudi Telecom Co affiliate Viva and Wataniya, a subsidiary of Qatar’s Ooredoo.